Hazy Revelations
by Nocez
Summary: Summer after OotP and onwards. Harry is dealing with the death at the end of term by way of marijuana and it's working quite well, but something breaks inside; bringing with advantages and disadvantages alike. Warning: Drug use
1. Chapter 1

**Hazy Revelations**

**AN: I'm posting this chapter mainly to gauge the reaction of readers, so that I know wether or not to continue posting should I be able to keep myself from getting my usual bout of writers block. It's all I've got written, though I have the basic ideas for chapter 2 & 3 ready as well. The title and contents may be subject to change, and before you read any further be aware that this story may not continue; if you feel this is a waste of your time, leave it be. ;)**

**Ideas and opinions greatly appreciated. Especially concerning how I did with the dialogue as I feel that's a big weakness of mine. Now, dear reader, enjoy.**

**Chapter 1 - Resurrection**

He took a long drag from the spliff in his hand and held it in for a few seconds before exhaling.

'_Aaah, that's the stuff… Bliss.'_

He laughed to himself, at himself, in actual mirth. Maybe doing drugs was a pathetic way of handling your grief, but DAMN, it was a hell of a lot better than sitting in his room crying all day. Lucky he had asked Mrs. Weasley to exchange quite a bit of galleons for pounds during her last Gringott's visit on his behalf, or he would've probably missed out on quite a bit.

Harry Potter was sitting down on the back lawn of Number 4, Privet Drive, resting against the wall of the house. He was supposed to be doing yard work, but who gives a damn about keeping the garden of the family that hates you in good shape. He chuckled again at the thought. Petunia would take all the credit for it anyways, were the neighbors to notice its immaculate state.

Harry had noticed that his "watcher", his babysitter, was always stationed on the front side of the house – first due to the distinctive smell of cheap tobacco and cheaper booze that Dung carried with him wherever he went, then the occasional rustling of bushes or flattened grass footprints where someone stood when others were on duty – and the view from the houses around Number 4 was obstructed by the tall hedges that grew along the edge of the property. As a result he wasn't particularly worried about being caught getting high. The Dursley's almost never went out in the backyard and even if they saw him he doubted they'd care about it other than not wanting the neighbors to notice anything _unnatural_. Drugs most definitely weren't a-okay from that point of view.

What with them having already painted him out as an Incurably Criminal Boy to the whole community though, Harry thought the neighbors probably expected it.

Harry had taken to using the invisibility cloak to circumvent his babysitting Order members when he wanted to leave the house, carefully _not_ rustling bushes or walking in the grass so as to not make the same mistake as his guards. And he had wanted to leave the house _a lot_.

After the events at the Ministry of Magic at the end of last term, he just couldn't stand being locked up with just his judgmental thoughts as company.

As such, he was out walking or running a lot and that's how he'd run into Scott, the local pot dealer.

Harry took another drag from the spliff and sighed contentedly as he let his mind drift back to that night.

*** FLASHBACK ***

It was the third day of summer vacation and Harry snuck past the Order guard and proceeded a safe distance away before ripping of the invisibility cloak and stuffing it in his bag. He figured that if not even the Order of the Phoenix knew where he'd gone off to then how would Voldemort.

_Surprise attack! Pause. Where the fuck is Potter?_ Should be entertaining.

Harry reached the nearby park and tiredly sat on one of the swings, kicking the swing into movement absently and losing himself in thoughts about what he could have done differently over the last year, mostly what he could've done to prevent Sirius' death, and beating himself up about not doing _that _instead.

A good fifteen minutes later he was startled as music blared out of the newly opened door of the house across the street. Looking up from where his gaze had been firmly fixed on the ground, he saw three teenagers, two girls and a guy, stumble out from what appeared to be a party in a house on the other side of the street. As the trio made their way over to the (nearly) deserted park, Harry got up, thinking to make himself scarce seeing as most people here only saw him as the criminal or freak cousin of Dudley Dursley – neither of which was the kind of attention he wanted.

"Heeey!", one of the girls called at him drunkenly. "Don't I know yooou?"

Harry slumped his shoulders and heaved a heavy sigh, turning. "I don't know, do you?"

"Whoa, attitude! Watch it, mister." the other girl responded, also quite drunk, as the guy lit what looked like an oddly shaped cigarette. "But yeah. You're Dursley's cousin, righ'? Harry, innit?"

Harry eyed them suspiciously before answering. "Yeah I am. Who are you guys?"

The guy – a semi-muscular bloke of average height with short, dark brown hair and goatee – chuckled as the group came to a stop a few feet in front of Harry. "That's harsh, dude, hear that guy's a real arse. Name's Scott, by the way."

Scott extended his hand and Harry shook it without much hesitation, considering Scott's comment about Dudley. "These two lovely and properly intoxicated ladies are Nicole", Scott pointed to the cute, short brunette on his right as he passed her the 'cigarette'. "And Helena." he finished, pointing to the pretty, taller blonde on his left.

His teasing earned him a playful swat on each shoulder and he looked at them in mock-hurt for a second, before turning back to Harry.

Harry gave them a small smile. "Nice to meet you." They seemed okay, He thought. Definitely not the Death Eater type. "How come… Eh, how come you're talking to me?"

He received raised eyebrows and questioning looks and quickly amended his statement. "No! I mean no offense or anything but half the neighborhood thinks I'm a criminal, the other half remembers me as that weird kid from school you probably shouldn't talk to…"

Harry trailed off as the trio started laughing and blushed. "What?!"

"Dude, I'm not exactly the most reputable character around, so even if that was true; who am I to judge?" Scott answered with a grin as he caught his breath.

"Actually, he's not the sanest person around either, so that covers both halves of your argument, eh?" Nicole added with a wink at Harry and a few steps away from Scott, putting Helena between them so as to avoid retaliation.

Harry smiled a proper smile this time, as Scott half-heartedly glared at the retreating brunette, and replied. "Good to hear not everyone in Little Whinging is a total git. I was beginning to wonder, to be honest."

Helena grinned at him. "So, you wanna party with us tonight, Harry?"

"Sure looked like you could use it, all gloom and doom as you were before we arrived." Nicole added with a friendly smile.

"Err, sure... I, I mean, yeah. Why not?" Harry stuttered out, surprised at the offer and her insight, but he managed to return her smile. Maybe he could get his mind of off things for a while, be content, maybe even happy... He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot, for even just a moment of peace.

"Livin' life to it's fullest!" Helena beamed. "Hell yeah!" Scott replied as he grabbed onto Harry around the shoulders and dragged him away towards the party.

*** END FLASHBACK ***

Harry had gotten stoned out of his mind that night, met lots of good-natured, interesting people likes of which he'd never have thought resided in Little Whinging and he'd felt on top of the world. They'd partied most of the night away and he'd finally fallen asleep next to Nicole on Scott's spare mattress, Helena and Scott sharing the latter's bed, as the sun was beginning to rise.

Next morning had brought a two and a half mile trek home to Privet Drive from Scott's mom's apartment and getting yelled at by his Aunt Petunia for not being home in time to help make lunch, but it was worth it by far.

Harry chuckled at how silly and seriously mistaken his aunt was, thinking anything she said had meaning to him after all these years of treating him like crap, then he flicked the remains of the spliff to the general area that his foot was currently occupying and stepped on it to put it out, picked it up again and flicked it into the bushes.

He gave another satisfied sigh.

In the two weeks that followed his first meeting with Scott and the girls, Harry had started smoking pot daily using his previously acquired pounds and hung out with his new friends as often as he had an opportunity to leave the house.

Nicole and Helena both had part-time summer jobs working at a restaurant, mostly during the days, but Scott was usually free due to his unusual financial solution and since Harry was both a costumer and friend he was always welcome. Harry progressively overcame previously his timid social ways as he hung out with them too, as they were mostly partying and consequently meeting a lot of new people. He gained more confidence in himself as he noticed that most of the people he met liked him despite that they had no idea of his fame or importance in the Wizarding World.

Some – of course – had even heard the rumors the Dursley's had been spreading about him or remembered Harry from Primary School, and still they seemed quite able to appreciate his company; in fact Nicole and Helena had been in his year through Primary School, although not in the same class.

Harry sighed again, but this time there was no contentment. There were no assignments to be written for school this summer, as last year had been their OWL year and they had yet to pick their NEWT classes, however… _'I should get started reviewing my old textbooks.'_

It was a depressing thought at first. Though the last two weeks had passed in a drunken, blurry rollercoaster ride of weed, some random snogging and general happiness Harry hadn't totally forgotten about the revelations of the end of term; that the prophecy planted the weight of the world firmly on his shoulders. It was in the middle of July now, a month and a half left before the next start of term, so Harry figured that he could squeeze quite a bit of knowledge and training out of the rest his summer.

Harry struggled to his feet, chuckling slightly at his own instability as he stumbled around when the THC kicked in properly. _'That one packed quite a punch.'_ He thought to himself, and then made his way inside the kitchen through the backdoor; only to end up face-to-face with a discontent Aunt Petunia.

Not a pleasant position to be in, to be sure, mainly because Aunt Petunia's face wasn't pleasant even when content.

She sniffed the air a bit and scowled at him. "You smell odd, _boy_. Take a shower, for goodness sake; I won't have you stinking up my house when we have guests coming over in a few hours!"

Harry shrugged and gave her a lopsided, uncaring smile. "Whatever you say, Auntie dearest."

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a slightly threatening tone. "Our dinner guests tonight are very important clients of Vernon, so I expect you to stay out of sight. Do I make myself _clear_?"

"Abundantly, Auntie."

Petunia looked very disapproving, her eyes narrowing further almost to the point of acquiring a comical effect, but didn't comment so Harry made his way up the stairs to his room to study, not bothering with the rudely requested shower as the smell of weed was mostly in his clothes anyway.

All of the Dursley's, even Uncle Vernon, had been quite meek so far this summer. Verbally abusive at times, sure, taunting and confrontational whenever opportunity presented itself, definitely, but never making outright threats or laying a hand on him.

***

"What're you doin' inside, then? Shouldn't you be out prettying up the garden?" Dudley challenged Harry an hour later from the doorway to his room, clearly confused and upset that his freak cousin was no longer the resident ill-treated house elf.

"Yeah, yeah, Duds. Sod off." Harry replied, waving him to the side with a flimsy gesture.

A tingling feeling swept swiftly through Harry's body, radiating out from the center of his being and his fat cousin was promptly sent flying towards the stairs. Dudley dropped to the corridor floor with a crash, screaming bloody murder, right on the verge of tumbling down the stairs.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" He shrieked.

Harry burst out laughing and made his way from his desk to the doorway to check on Dudley's landing.

"I don't know, Duds, guess the ol' magic's acting up, huh?" Harry replied, smiling widely.

"But you can't do that out of school!" Dudley screamed, before his demeanor changed after a few seconds of what appeared to be intense thought and he continued smugly. "Haha, you'll be expelled from your freak-school now!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Duds," Harry kept smiling. With Fudge holding on to his job so barely after Voldemort's return became official, he was pretty sure that expelling the Boy-Who-Lived-And-Turned-Out-To-Be-Right-About-Everything wouldn't be a very good political move. Dumbledore certainly wouldn't allow it, considering the prophecy, and wasn't the Ministry tracking spells in the wand anyway? "You have a nice day now, yeah?"

With that Harry closed the door to his room, intending to do continue studying uninterrupted for the rest of the evening. Probably for the rest of the summer, if Dudley's horrified expression was anything to go by.

***

The following afternoon had Harry going through _Achievements in Charming_, sitting out in the sun against the back wall of the house once again with a comfortably buzzing high in the back of his head, when a colorful slip of paper suddenly fell out of the book and landed in his lap, having apparently been lodged between the last page and the cover.

As Harry picked it up he saw that it was an owl order form from Flourish & Blotts and therefore a _very_ welcome and pleasant surprise.

Harry, of course, realized that just the books he had now wouldn't get him very far against an experienced dark wizard – even though it had seemed to be working out quite admirably this far – and filled in the order form to indicate he needed books on the subjects of basic and advanced Occlumency, a selection of books on advanced Dueling and Defense Against the Dark Arts and an instructional and educational book on the Animagus transformation (though the exact titles he left up to the bookstores employees to decide) in addition to the new sixth and seventh year textbooks in spells, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense.

Harry figured the shopkeeper should know which textbooks will be in use the following year, considering they have to order the books beforehand to be able to handle the rush of students that came with the arrival of the Hogwarts letters. He attached his order, a packaged stack of galleons along with a note that told the book dealers to keep the change to Hedwig's legs, petted her fondly for a minute and then sent her off towards London.

During that week Harry started taking his summer, his life and future, a bit more seriously. He was still high and giggling most of the time, but he spent approximately nine hours a day at home studying – telling Scott and the girls he was severely behind on his schoolwork due to bad grades during his GSCE exams by way of explanation – in instead of just constantly partying.

Harry found that even though his buzzed state during these sessions lead to him be easily distracted the single-minded fascination that he attained with the more interesting magical subjects more than made up for it. This vigorous studying lead to Harry surprisingly having read through his third through fifth year books in Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts (excluding Umbridge's choice in textbook and instead including _Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts_, the book that he got from Professor Lupin and Sirius last Christmas) as well as _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 5_ and the important dark and/or dangerous creature sections of his Care of Magical Creatures textbooks quite thoroughly by Thursday the week after that.

This left almost half of the talking homework diary Hermione had gotten him last Christmas full of scrawled notes and drawings about spells of interest and magical theory.

For the same reason he'd made such quick work of the books that interested him, Harry hadn't read a single word from a Potions textbook.

It wasn't that the subject was dull, really, but having the greasiest git of them all for a teacher for five years left him shuddering a bit at the mere thought of Potions and certainly didn't motivate him to study it further while under the influence of a few joints.

To Harry's continued hilarity it seemed that his magic "acting up" was not a one-time occurrence. And neither was it covered by the Restriction of Underage Magic, apparently, as he hadn't gotten any complaints.

Something had snapped inside Harry Potter, and he didn't know why (or _how_), but it caused his magic to help him accomplish things – sometimes small, sometimes big. His control over this newfound ability was weak and unreliable at best though; he'd tried to send Dudley flying again a few times for fun, with little to no success, but he rarely needed a lighter for his spliffs anymore.

'_That's pretty fucking practical though.'_ Harry thought, hanging out the second floor window of his room, looking down the backyards of Privet Drive as the sun set in the horizon. He put a newly rolled spliff in his mouth and the tip of it flared as his magic lit it automatically. Studying done for the day he was heading out to meet Scott, Helena and Nicole.

***

As Friday, the 26th of July, came around so did Harry's OWL results. He found the impatient- and important-looking Ministry owl sitting perched next to Hedwig on the back of his desk chair as he stumbled inside feeling quite a bit hung over. Hedwig seemed to glare at Harry for a bit, before turning the glare on the Ministry owl once again.

Another owl, a non-descript barn owl, had wisely taken up a perch further from Hedwig; namely on top of her cage a good three foot away.

Harry eyed the Ministry owl blearily for a while, cursing his monumental appetite for vodka, before relieving both owls of their burdens. The two non-residents quickly fled the room as Harry sat down on the edge of his bed, head in hand, his elbow resting on his knee to read the contained messages.

The letter brought by the barn owl turned out to be a short message from Dumbledore, informing him that sadly he wouldn't be able to leave for Grimmauld Place until a week before the start of school due to the recent increase in Death Eater activity, but that a Diagon Alley trip would be scheduled during that last week with full Auror and Order protection for him and his friends.

Crushing the letter into a little ball and throwing it casually in the general direction of the bin, Harry didn't notice when it changed direction midair and landing precisely where he'd lazily envisioned it would.

'_Perhaps it's for the best, really.'_ He thought, a bit saddened. Sure, Harry missed Ron and Hermione and all the Weasleys… but he honestly thought he would have gone insane living a whole summer in Sirius' old house.

Surrey had for once been a welcome change of scenery, thanks largely to the efforts of Nicole, Helena and Scott. Of course, Harry still mourned Sirius, but had recognized the futility in sitting around blaming himself and being miserable; Scott and the girls had shown him how to have fun, though their methods weren't exactly commonly accepted, and Harry knew that that is exactly what Sirius would have wanted for him.

'_How the hell am I going to hide my 'habits' from Dumbledore and the rest?' _Harry mused briefly._ 'I sure as hell ain't quitting.'_

With a small smile, he ripped open the envelope from the Ministry and began reading.

_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_It is with sincere pleasure that the Department of Magical Education and myself announce that you have passed your O.W.L.s and congratulate you on your achievements. You will find your test scores below, ranking on a scale from Outstanding to Troll with a possibility for extra credit._

_We wish you continued good luck with your education,_

_Professor Griselda Marchbanks, CDMG, APMO, fdBB_

_Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, Department of Magical Education_

_Ministry of Magic_

_------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Subject – Grade – Extra Credit_

_Astronomy – P – none _

_Care of Magical Creatures – E – none _

_Charms – O – 2/10 points_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts – O – 10/10 points_

_Divination – D – none _

_Herbology – E – none _

_History of Magic – P – none _

_Potions – E – none _

_Transfiguration – O – none _

_------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Wow… Well…" Harry said aloud to nobody in particular. "That wasn't very unpleasant." A small smile spread across his otherwise pretty haggard face.

'_Good grades in my favored subjects, plus the E's in Herbology, Creatures and Potions.' _He continued, now keeping his thoughts to himself.

'_Really got fucked over with the Astronomy grade though, considering…' _

Harry knew he wouldn't be able to take N.E.W.T. level Potions, because of Snape's demand for O scores on the O.W.L.s, but resolved that it'd probably be a waste of time anyway with Snape teaching it. Maybe he could pull some strings and get into Auror Training anyways. Being the Boy-Who-Lived has to hold _some_ political weight, else Harry really failed to see the benefits.

He decided to sign up for N.E.W.T.s in all of the subjects where he got an E or higher (and consequently passed, as he had no Acceptables), except for Potions, and check out which electives to sign up for whenever he got his Hogwarts letter. _'Good riddance, Divination.'_

***

The following four days Harry once again spent with his Muggle friends in all-out party mode, having no books of interest left to read until his owl order was delivered and not being especially keen on hanging around the Dursley's despite their improved behavior.

Harry left the party early on the night before his birthday and arrived home, a bit drunk, a quarter to midnight, only to be met by a room full of utterly exhausted owls.

His order from Flourish & Blotts had arrived, and he had to admit that it was by a stroke of pure luck that he hadn't closed the window before leaving home that day. Twenty different owls carrying heavy book-shaped packages would've certainly raised some questions from the neighbors and fury from the Dursley's, had they been forced to linger outside.

Hedwig was nowhere to be seen, probably having gone out hunting when the flock of book-bearing trespassers arrived.

Harry gave the delivery owls sympathetic looks as he released each one in turn of its cargo and gave it an owl treat, but couldn't help but grin at the fact that he would finally be able to make some progress in his training instead of just acquiring a deeper understanding of things he already knew.

Opening the fifteen packages the owls had carried – as some of the books had required more than one owl for delivery – Harry found that he was now the proud owner of _Occlumency for Beginners_, the more advanced tome _The Arts of the Mind,_ the six books that encompassed the entire basic curriculum reading requirements for N.E.W.T. level Defense, Transfiguration and Charms (marked as such with post-it like notes) and as well as two books on professional level dueling, four on increasingly advanced defense against dark creatures and wizards and a copy of the heavy volume entitled _Finding Your Inner Beast_.

"Cool", he breathed, running his hand over the ornately decorated black and dark green cover of the last book. Picking it up, he saw the letter previously hidden between it and the wrapping paper underneath and decided to read that before losing himself in the Animagus book.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_ it read.

_I was pleasantly surprised and honored to receive your order and feel that I must excuse the small delay of its delivery with an explanation._

_When my assistant told me of your order, I asked to read it myself. I sensed your motivation for this highly advanced and highly expensive purchase and saw to it to ask around among friends and acquaintances within the higher educational system and law enforcement agencies – who I know to be very proficient in these subjects – for what books might best suit your needs; never mentioning your name, of course._

_I hope my choices will be to your liking and benefit, and please, do stop by the next time you're in the Alley to let me know what you thought._

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Arbel Freed, Manager_

_Flourish & Blotts_

Harry grinned widely at the letter. _Talk about freakin' service._ He would most definitely stop by and talk to Mr. Freed the next time he was near the bookstore and thank him for going over and above expectations.

Pleased with the apparent high quality and usefulness of his purchases, he grabbed _Finding Your Inner Beast_ again and lay down to read. An hour later his birthday owls had yet to start arriving and Harry was fast asleep, still fully clothed and hugging his new book to his stomach.

The need to become better, to become stronger, to be able to live up to his predestined place as savior and to be able to live at all plagued his sleeping mind now that he for once wasn't affected by his usual sleeping aid.

Harry's body wrenched around and twitched intensely from time to time during the night, sending bursts of magic outward with no apparent purpose, but he did not wake.

As such, no one noticed the phenomena, save a few owls that were not likely to tell anyone.

***

Harry awoke around midday on his birthday feeling sweaty and sore, like he'd just spent his eleven or so hours of sleep doing two weeks of quidditch practice. On the plus side he didn't have a hangover, but he was still pretty tired despite usually only requiring 7-8 hours of sleep a night.

Pushing away thoughts on that particular weirdness for later, he took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes before replacing them and looking around the room.

It was still a bit blurry, but a smile twitched at his face as he witnessed Pig zooming around the room happily with a small package tied to his leg, annoying the other owls to no end. He plucked the small owl out of the air easily and took his gift first off first, hoping he would calm down.

After getting all presents untied and owls ushered out, Harry jumped in the shower and then got some breakfast, reflecting that with the book delivery and the few extra gifts he had probably quadrupled his usual number of incoming owls over the summer, easily.

Harry had, with accompanying notes of well wishes, gotten a couple of t-shirts that actually fit from Mrs. Weasley, a leather necklace with a small dragonstooth from Tonks, a book on stealth enchantments from Professor Lupin, a black dragonhide belt from the twins and some wizarding candy and a new broom servicing kit respectively from Ron and Hermione. He'd also gotten a forearm spring-release wand holster with a strong Notice-Me-Not charm on it from Moody and a few books and trinkets from Ginny, Luna, Neville, the rest of the DA and some order members. In Luna's case it was an earring that looked like a small chili fruit that he was pretty certain he was never going to wear.

Having just gone through and put away all his presents and the books from the night before, and slightly annoyed that his vision didn't seem to want to clear fully despite vigorous rubbing of eyes and a cup of coffee to wake himself up, Harry was surprised as another official looking owl entered through the window. It earned a glare from Hedwig, who clearly thought there had been enough visitors for a couple of months already.

Taking its carried letter thoughtfully, he broke the Ministry seal as the messenger fled Hedwig's glare by way of the window and read it.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Congratulations._

_You are, as of your sixteenth birthday and the receiving of this letter, of age in the eyes of the Ministry and exempt from the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic though still liable to abide by the Secrecy Act if you do not wish to end up in Ministry custody._

_You are also eligible for apparition lessons and licensing._

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper Use of Magic Office, Ministry of Magic_

'_Freedom!'_ the thought rushed through Harry's head bringing with it elation and relief.

It would be nice not being prosecuted the next time he had to defend himself from Dementors, but he wasn't sure that he wouldn't be anyways what with Fudge in office. He was probably only safe from the Ministry for as long as Fudge was struggling to keep his job.

Harry pulled out his stash from under the loose floorboard, got himself a joint and leaned out the window before it lit automatically

He took a long, slow hit, feeling the smoke fill his lungs.

'_Aah…'_

When he had finished the joint, he put it out on the windowsill and flicked it out into the backyard. As he turned around, it burst into flames behind his back and was disintegrated before it hit the ground, like some sort of silent firecracker.

Petunia Dursley eyed her nephew with extreme suspicion as he walked out of the house. Something had to be seriously wrong for her freakish nephew to be that happy.

***

It was with a spring in his step that Harry left Privet Drive soon thereafter for Scott's apartment, wearing a new marine blue t-shirt, an oversized light grey hoodie and oversized torn blue jeans held up by a black dragonhide belt. The dragontooth necklace dangled from around his neck, his wand was held securely in his forearm wand holster and he had a big smile plastered across his face.

Today was good.

***

**AN: There you have it, folks. Purr-lease... review. ^_~**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Anything or anyone you might recognize, I don't own. I'm not making any money. At all. No copyright infringement is intended. This applies to all chapters and other works posted by me on this site.

**Hazy Revelations**

**AN: I'm posting this chapter mainly to gauge the reaction of readers, so that I know whether or not to continue posting should I be able to keep myself from getting my usual bout of writers block. It's all I've got written, though I have the basic ideas for chapter 3 & 4 ready as well. The title and contents may be subject to change, and before you read any further be aware that this story may not continue; if you feel this is a waste of your time, leave it be. ;)**

**Ideas and opinions greatly appreciated. Especially concerning how I did with the dialogue (or balance between descriptive storytelling and dialogue) as I feel that's a big weakness of mine. Now, dear reader, enjoy.**

**Chapter 2 – Cleaning Up**

***

Harry good mood had not faltered in the slightest when he arrived at the apartment complex a few miles away from Privet Drive. Bounding up two flights of stairs, he found the door marked 'E. & S. Higgins' and gave it a few firm knocks.

"Hi Harry," Scott's mother greeted, letting him in. "How are you today?"

Evelyn was in her mid to late thirties and quite beautiful for her age, with long dark hair and a curvaceous, near hour-glass figure. Harry had been quite careful not to mention any thoughts of her beauty to Scott, for obvious reasons, but she sometimes made it rather hard not to stare. Like when she opened the door, leaning slightly forwards against the doorpost, in a rather low-cut dress that showed of her cleavage nicely and directed a dazzling smile his way.

Harry forced himself look her in the eyes as he returned the greeting. "Hi, Eve. I'm doing just fine, how about you?"

"Oh, you know, I manage just fine… My holidays stated today." She replied over her shoulder as she turned and walked into the living room, her rear swaying enticingly.

"That's great, you deserve some time off."

Eve was a nurse over at Easy Surrey Hospital and she'd always had to work pretty hard to make ends meet, as Scott's father had left her before Scott was even born. Scott had told him all about it about a week ago when Harry confided to the group why he was living with his much hated aunt and uncle.

"Thank you, Harry. I just wish I had the money left over to go abroad and relax on some Mediterranean beach for a week or so…" Eve answered with a sigh. "Maybe next year, eh? Scott's holed up in his room as usual, go drag him out in the sun for a bit."

Harry chuckled. "I'll see what I can do", he replied with a wink, heading down the hall to Scott's room.

***

As soon as Harry was out of sight, Eve let her guard down a bit and her face flushed.

There was something _odd_ about that young man, something _odd_ about how it felt as if the air in the otherwise fairly breeze-free apartment was suddenly caressing her body whenever he looked at her.

_Odd, but definitely not unpleasant._

***

"Hey, dude!" Scott exclaimed, not even looking up from his position hunched over behind his laptop. "Just a sec, got to finish this email before we go meet the girls."

"No problem, mate." Harry busied himself with experimentally bench pressing the barbell of Scott's home training kit a couple of times. He found it had gotten marginally easier than last time. "What's the plan for today?"

"There's a party over at Hailey's house tonight, her parents are out of the country… But that's not 'till around eight, so I guess we'll see what Nikki and Helena wants to do." Scott answered, closing the laptop. "C'mon, you lazy git, let's go."

"Yeah, Scott… _I'm_ the one that always gets us late." Harry countered, smiling as they left.

***

"Hey guys!" Nicole beamed at them, as they met the girls about halfway between Scott's and Helena's apartments. She leaned in and gave Harry a peck on the cheek, and then her eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of his new necklace. "Wicked! Where'd you get the necklace, handsome?"

"Yeah, what is that anyway?" Helena jumped in. "Crocodile tooth?"

Harry blushed ever so slightly as he replied. "Um, yeah! Croc tooth, right in one. I got it this morning, a friend from boarding school sent it."

"_Oh_, you got a not-so-secret admirer, Harry?" Scott joined in with a grin.

"_No_!" Harry denied forcefully, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. Nikki had been flirting with him rather shamelessly lately and Harry did _not_ want to mess that up. "It's my birthday today, didn't I tell you guys?"

That earned him a smack in the back of the head from Nicole. "No you bloody well didn't!" she replied with an accusatory mock-glare.

"Ow!" Harry replied, looking hurt. "It doesn't matter much –"

"Yeah it does! Now we'll have to think up presents at an awfully short notice, you prick." Scott teased, interrupting.

Here Helena got a mischievous smile. "Well, considering out little Harry's currently appalling state of dress, it shouldn't be very hard now should it?" She said. "We'll need to take Harry here to get some proper clothes!"

Nicole mirrored her demeanor and agreed readily. "You're coming shopping!" She cheered.

"Hey, I can get my own clothes! You don't have to –" Harry protested, before Nicole interrupted him.

"Yeah right you can, that t-shirt is the first suitable piece of clothing I've seen you in all summer. A birthday gift, I assume?" At Harry's reluctant nod, she continued. "Let's go check the bus schedule, Harry."

She latched on to Harry's arm and dragged him away towards the nearest bus stop.

Scott laughed at his friend's predicament, but was quickly silenced when Helena copied the move and informed him he was coming with them; leaving little room for arguments.

***

At around 2 o'clock the group exited the bus in downtown London, Harry having given an edited account of the other birthday gifts he had received during the bus ride. All three of his friends had scowled at the fact that the Dursley's had not even acknowledged his birthday, but Harry had just shrugged; his relatives ignoring him was old news by now.

Now, walking down the streets at a leisurely pace, the conversation had turned to lighter topics and the girls were smiling happily at the prospect of playing dress-up with their slightly awkward friend; whilst Harry and Scott looked pretty uneasy with the same impending future.

After walking a few blocks Helena spotted a clothes shop that looked good and the boys were gently but firmly pushed inside.

Harry had to admit it was a nice choice of shop, but then again – compared to what currently resided in his closet road kill would look like fancy clothing. He stared around for a bit at fashionably torn and paint-splashed jeans in different shades and rather neat-looking t-shirts with various prints on them while the Scott and the girls went off to pick out some clothes.

After a minute he snapped out of it and found Nikki and Helena smiling widely at him, holding two pairs of jeans, a jacket and some hoodies.

Harry laughed at their excitement and followed them to the changing rooms for what would become a solid hour of modeling clothes for his two friends turned enthusiastic (and self-appointed) fashion advisors.

***

When they finally left the store it was with their collective pockets about 140 quid lighter, with Harry having paid a little more than half and the others splitting the difference three ways as a birthday present.

Nikki and Helena insisted that Harry wear some of his new clothes from the store; as such he was currently looking quite sharp as he stepped out onto the streets of London in new sneakers, baggy black jeans, the marine blue t-shirt from Mrs. Weasley and an unbuttoned, light blue patterned shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"My, oh my, Harry – you clean up well…" Nikki teased with a sly grin, simultaneously putting an arm around his waist as they walked. In clothes that actually fit him, Harry was revealed to look quite a lot less scrawny than his previous attire had led observers to believe. He was slim, of course, but athletic thanks to his previous years of quidditch.

"You mean _we _cleaned him up pretty well," Helena corrected with a wink.

Harry responded by mumbling something about women being nutters under his breath and putting his arm around Nikki's shoulders, but otherwise ignoring them.

"Bloody torture session that was," Scott said. "But at least it's over."

When met with raised eyebrows and a silent stare from Helena, he hesitated. "Eh… Please say it's over?" He begged, seeming near panic, causing the rest of the group to break out in laughter.

"Don't worry, Scotty, we're headin' home." Helena answered, smiling, when she caught her breath.

They spent the bus ride home to Surrey talking and laughing amongst themselves. For a few minutes Harry lost himself in thought while the others continued their conversation. He frowned, a little worried about the amount of muggle money he'd spent.

Then Harry shrugged to himself, deciding there was no use fretting about it, just as a small tingling sensation went up his spine. Unnoticed even to Harry his wallet suddenly thickened slightly in his pocket.

***

They partied pretty hard that night, putting some extra effort into getting shitfaced seeing as it was Harry's birthday. By midnight Harry was hammered, but surprisingly steady on his feet.

Or rather he wasn't steady in the slightest, but he did manage to keep himself upright through the most advanced series of stumbles Scott had ever seen – and amazingly without breaking anything.

"How're you doing, dude?" He asked, just as Harry finished an impressive bit of acrobatics to get himself down the stairs form the second floor.

"I'm feeling well good, mate." Harry answered, grinning. "Bit plastered s'all."

"We could tell that much, babe." Nikki commented, nudging him in the side playfully, and then clinging to his arm to steady her also quite intoxicated self.

"What do you think you're doing, eh?" said an unknown voice from behind them before a forceful shove in Harry's back sent both him and Nikki sprawling to the floor.

Scott, narrowing his eyes, stepped to the side to assess the situation as Harry quickly picked himself up from the floor and glared at the perpetrator, who he thought looked vaguely familiar. "I was talking to my friends, what's it to you arsehole?"

The room quieted as people started to notice the confrontation.

"Nikki's my girl, _Potter_; I won't have your dirty hands pawing all over her." Piers Polkiss replied in a nasty tone of voice, scowling at Harry.

"Oh, give it up Piers; we made out _once _when I was smashed out of my mind!" Nikki replied as she was helped to her feet by Helena, sending an apologetic look Harry's way. "And I've ignored you ever since!"

"Oh, so you think this freak's better than me, huh?" Piers questioned incredulously.

Harry snorted at that, "I've always been better than you, Polkiss, you bloody wannabe. Always hanging around with my retard of a cousin trying to get yourself some tiny measure of undeserved respect." He answered in Nikki's stead, and then ducked without thinking as Piers took a swing at his head and nearly fell over.

Helena, Nikki and a couple of others gasped and shouted angrily for him to stop as Piers continued to rain blows toward the drunk raven haired teen. Scott advanced on the two calmly.

Piers let another fist fly toward Harry's stomach, but Harry slid to the side and he hit nothing but air. He looked more like a marionette tugged about by an unseen set of strings than a fighter avoiding blows and his body tingled with magic. "Really beating the crap out of that empty space around me, eh?" Harry taunted in between laughing fits as he narrowly evaded the next couple of attempts to pummel him to a bloody pulp.

Then, accompanied by a sound of shattering glass, Piers fell to the floor in an unconscious heap as Scott thumped him in the back of the head with an empty vodka bottle – and it was all over.

"Always hated that wanker." He said casually as he dropped the remaining bottleneck on said wanker. "You want us to drop this garbage off on the curb on our way out, Hailey?" He kicked Piers leg to indicate what he meant.

***

Having stuffed Polkiss upside down in the nearest trash can, the foursome walked towards Scott's neighborhood in a more jovial mood.

"That was bloody brilliant, Scott! Thanks for helping me out back there." Harry congratulated him with a grin.

"Don't mention it, mate." Scott just laughed and shrugged. "I could say the same to you, though! I've never seen someone move like that, I couldn't believe my eyes there for a while." He shook his head.

"You been studying drunken-style kungfu or something, Harry?" Helena questioned curiously.

"No, it just kind of happened, I don't know what to tell you. Guess I'm a natural."

"It was weird. Looked pretty _unnatural _to me!"

'_Kind of like magic…'_ Harry thought to himself and chuckled. "Yeah, felt weird too." He agreed.

"Weird or not, the important thing is that Harry didn't get hurt." Nikki said, hugging him tightly against her as they walked. "I've made it through worse, Nikki, don't you worry." He whispered, his hot breath on her ear making her shiver slightly. She kissed him lightly. When Harry's hand then caressed down her back to squeeze her bum she couldn't help but respond.

They had been playing this game for weeks now; the friendly flirting, cuddling and falling asleep together after parties… the occasional kiss that left her wanting so much _more_.

Nikki pushed Harry up against a building and Scott and Helena stumbled off ahead of them, sniggering. She licked her lips suggestively, grazing her fingernails from the back of his head down the side of his neck, she pressed her full-figured body against his and leaned in and moaned in his ear as he kissed her neck. Harry's lips found hers heatedly and her hands curled into fists in his black hair as he stroked her sides and back.

"How about you stay with me tonight and I give you a _real_ birthday present?" She whispered against his mouth, almost breathless.

***

Harry awoke the next morning to the feel of a naked female body pressed against his own. It felt exquisite. _'I could really get used to this.' _He mused.

He knew it was Nicole, of course. He remembered the night before quite vividly, despite his inebriated state. _'And what a night it was… How could I forget?'_ He chuckled. Nikki nuzzled against him in semi-consciousness, smiling contentedly, but didn't seem ready to face the waking world (or her burgeoning hangover) just quite yet.

Harry had been half-convinced that this attraction between him and Nikki was all in his head until last night, she was quite a flirt after all, but now… He glanced down at the wonderful, if slightly blurry, view and felt like a million bucks.

Annoyed that he couldn't see her clearly now that he had her in all her glory, Harry wondered where his glasses had gotten to last night. With nigh more than a thought, they were in his hand and he put them on.

'_Handy, handy magic.'_

Annoyance once again overcame his smugness, though, when he noticed that he saw only slightly better with the glasses on, but shrugged it off.

***

Harry was no longer as naïve and simpleminded he had once been. This burning thing that he and Nikki shared was not love, not yet anyway. It something else entirely; a friendship filled with wondrous sexual tension, attraction, the likes of which he'd never previously known. It was raw, mutual desire – teenage hormones at their very best.

***

When Nikki woke half an hour later, Harry kissed her softly, slipping his tongue between her lips to graze her own. He wouldn't want to give Nikki the idea that last night was strictly a one-time occurrence, now would he?

Things progressed from there to the slow, sensual lovemaking of the distinctly hung over kind and another half hour later they ate breakfast.

There was really no awkwardness between them, as Harry had feared might happen, instead Nikki couldn't keep a smile off her face every time Harry looked her way. Harry wasn't her first, nor was he her second, but he was definitely… something else. When he touched her, when he kissed her, it was with such intensity it was intoxicating. They made light conversation and all was right with the world; it's full weight for once not on Harry's shoulders.

Conversing casually, entwined almost to the point of stumbling, they walked together over to Scott's apartment. Harry only stayed a while, laughing and talking about last night's party; with copious amounts of teasing being shot Harry's way. Picking up his purchases and presents from the day before, he then said his goodbyes and made his way back to Privet Drive.

***

Once inside Number 4 Harry made to walk up the stairs but was cut short as soon as he sat foot on the first step.

"What is it you've got there, _boy_?" Uncle Vernon grumbled and wrenched his shopping bags from his hand.

"Where'd you get this, huh?" He continued angrily. "Been stealing money from us, have you?"

Harry was about to snap back and lose his temper, but caught himself in time to reconsider.

"You know what, Vern? I'd rather not let you ruin an otherwise excellent morning." Harry replied with an indifferent look at his uncle, who was turning puce.

"Now see here –"

"No." Harry continued more firmly. "I got those clothes in London yesterday. Yesterday was my birthday, something you might've noticed if you hadn't been a gigantic arse."

Vernon looked like he was about to explode.

"They're presents – so that I wouldn't have to look like a bloody street urchin wearing Dudley's old castoffs. Now piss off."

With that he snatched the bags back and started up the stairs.

Vernon exploded. "You ungrateful little freak," he shouted grabbing hold Harry's shoulder roughly. "I should beat –"

'_Too far, Uncle Dearest.'_

Harry sent a death glare over the same shoulder his uncle had grasped and Vernon fell down on his arse from the surge of magic that resulted.

"You should do _what_, Vernon?" Harry growled dangerously, all loose objects within 15 feet starting to shake from his anger. Vernon's face drained of color and he was suddenly mute, his throat too dry from fright, to answer. The rush of power in the room was enormous, not even Vernon could mistake it for anything else.

"That's right. You should do _NOTHING_. Because if you even fucking touch me again I'll beat you to a bloody pulp." Harry walked with slow, thunderous steps that were dreadfully disproportionate to his weight as he walked the rest of the way to his bedroom, his mind set on effectively intimidating the tub of lard behind him.

As Harry slammed his door closed behind him the loose objects that had just stopped shaking – including a couple of paintings, a few pens, a phonebook and a fair number of shoes – blasted from their various places of rest and hit Vernon Dursley as hard as possible. At that moment the door burst open to allow a very anxious Nymphadora Tonks entry.

***

Once in his room Harry calmed considerably. He was intending to assist that process with the help of some premium marijuana when his door, too, burst open.

"Harry!" Tonks shouted worriedly. "What's going on, what happened?"

Harry stealthily slid the loose floorboard back into place with his foot as he made a calming gesture and replied. "Nothing really Tonks, calm down. My uncle was just being rude and made me mad – it's okay, _calm down_!"

Tonks felt calmness wash over her at once and slumped with relief, shedding her battle-ready stance. "Oh thank god." She sighed out. "I have only been in combat two times outside of Auror training. But then -… what was that magic I sensed? And how come I couldn't open the front door?"

"You… You felt that?" Harry replied uncertainly.

"Of _course_ I felt that! It hit me like a wall of _bricks_! What was it?"

"Eh, yeah… That was me, I guess." Harry replied.

"What do you mean that was _you_?" Tonks asked, eyes wide. "How could you..?"

"Tonks, I… It was accidental magic, I got angry and it just sort of happened. It's happened before, summer before my third year." Harry suggested. He knew that what his magic had been doing lately was on a whole other scale, but he'd prefer if every one else _didn't_ know just yet.

"Oh…" Tonks said, almost in awe. "That's some bizarre stuff you've got going on, Harry. I'm just glad you're okay." She hugged him for a minute and Harry accepted it gladly.

"You… You holding up alright, Harry?" She asked finally, releasing him. They both sat down on the bed.

"Yeah. I'm doing okay. I can't say I'm over it… But I've got it under control." Harry answered, thinking it over.

"You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

"I do, but I should've known better. I'm sorry you got hurt. You healing okay?"

Tonks snorted. "Of course I am. Magical healing is pretty amazing Harry, but I thought you'd know that by now, considering all the time I've heard you spent in the hospital wing." She replied with a wink. "Still, it hurts a bit sometimes and it left quite a scar… That can't be removed with my metamorphic skills." Tonks lifted her t-shirt to show a large blotch of concentrated scar tissue along the right side of her ribcage. Harry couldn't help but notice that she seemed otherwise flawless, but pushed the thought away.

Harry smiled at her. "Doesn't look so bad." He said. She snorted in response.

"Yeah, right. And that lightning bolt on your forehead isn't noticeable at all." She replied, raising an arched eyebrow. He laughed and they spoke for a while longer, treading lightly around the topic of their mutual loss. It was clear that Tonks mourned Sirius as well, it needed not be spoken. They took what comfort they needed in each others company and instead focused on the good things in life; friends, Quidditch, life at Hogwarts.

Tonks left an hour later, with a promise to come by again some time.

***

The Hogwarts owl arrived just minutes after Tonks had left. Harry allowed it entrance through the window he had effectively been blocking, about to light up a joint. He removed its envelope swiftly, but the owl stuck around, apparently awaiting reply.

After a few deep drags on the spliff he opened the envelope, reading:

_Mr. Potter,_

_As your last year of schooling saw your completion of the O.W.L exams, you are now required to select your N.E.W.T level courses and your elective courses for your continued schooling to a total of no less than 6 courses of which no less than 4 has to be N.E.W.T level._

_You may choose among all subjects in which you have gained the grade of Acceptable or higher, with the only exception being N.E.W.T Potions where the grade Outstanding is required for admission due to special request from Potions Master Severus Snape._

_Sincerely,_

_Prof. Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry_

Looking over the attached booklist for all available subjects as well as the reply parchment with the subject list, Harry got out a quill and some ink to indicate his selected courses.

_N.E.W.T Courses_

_[ ] Ancient Runes_

_[ ] Arithmancy_

_[ ] Astronomy_

_[X] Care of Magical Creatures_

_[X] Charms_

_[X] Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_[ ] Divination_

_[ ] Herbology_

_[ ] History of Magic_

_[ ] Muggle Studies_

_[ ] Potions_

_[X] Transfiguration_

_Elective Subjects_

_[X] Apparition_

_[X] Introduction to Healing_

_[X] Introduction to the Mind Arts_

_[X] Introduction to Warding & Curse-Breaking_

Harry had changed his mind about Herbology over the last week. He didn't really see the use for an intimate knowledge about the care of plant life during wartime. Herbs are used in Potions, which are used for Healing and other useful purposes; but since he couldn't take Potions that became a moot point. It would be better to skip it in favor of more independent studies and training.

The elective healing course on the other hand only assumed an O.W.L level Potions and Herbology understanding and ability, and would surely be very useful if not necessary for his survival in the ongoing war.

Apparition, to be able to travel freely, was a given and the Mind Arts – Occlumency, Legilimency and Obliviation – would definitely be necessary for intelligence gathering and protecting purposes. Considering the Ministry incident there was no doubt about that.

Harry had his doubts about Warding & Curse-Breaking, but supposed it wouldn't hurt to check it out seeing as it could probably be useful when hiding a friendly safehouse or infiltrating a hostile one.

Slipping the subject selection form in the same envelope and resealing it, he sent the school owl back, and then he went over the book list again. _Occlumency for Beginners_, which he already had, was one of the Mind Arts books he'd need along with another book on the basics of the 'offensive' mind arts. He would also need to pick up two books on practical healing, three on different kinds of wards and location-specific curses, the book on apparition theory and a more exhaustive creature's compendium.

This was getting damn expensive, Harry thought to himself.

***

**AN: There you have it, folks. Purr-lease... review. ^_~**


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